Beautiful
by Rosajean
Summary: Sam is having a good day. Sam/Jack & Janet/Daniel. Was a one-shot, but decided to continue it. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for a lot of affinity towards everything Stargate and particularly Sam & Jack pairing. **

These days were few and far between. Sure, there'd been plenty of men - or well, alien men, at least – that had praised her looks, and the occasional male earthling as well, if she's being honest. And on more than a few instances she'd even caught her CO staring at her or watching her as she walked away. But when she got up and looked in the mirror each morning, it was usually the bags under her eyes, her short hair with a mind of its own, and the occasional blemishes that she noticed.

But not today. Today was one of those rare days when she looked in the mirror, and for no apparent reason, she actually saw the beauty that others had complimented her on. When these days did come along, there was an extra spring in her step and she'd even dab on a bit of makeup just because she could.

Not that she thought she was ugly, per se, but today everything seemed to be working for her. Her hair was framing her face in the perfect way and the sunlight seemed to be bringing out her natural highlights better than usual. Her skin was clear and the bags under her eyes had finally gone away after 3 days of sleeping in, which she only got to do because she and the rest of SG-1 had been ordered to take some down time. And for once, she didn't seem to have any bruises or scrapes from the most recent off-world missions. _That in itself is a miracle_, she thought to herself with a grin. And then, to top it all off, it was the week after that 'certain time of the month', which is when a woman's body usually weighs less and looks its best.

_Yep, I'm looking pretty good today_, Sam said to herself in the mirror before heading towards the closet.

She had plans to meet up with the guys and Janet for lunch and then head on over to O'Neill's for a few games of pool, and later they'd throw some meat on the grill and sit around telling stories of the times before they knew each other and rehashing the most recent missions. Playing pool was the only new addition to this old ritual of getting together on their days off. O'Neill had found a pool table at a garage sale and bought it on a whim, ignoring the fact that he'd never really played a lot of pool in his lifetime. So he'd invited the team and Janet over to break in his new toy and it had turned into a whole, planned event. Most of their get-togethers usually resulted naturally, stemming from their lack of friends outside of work due to their insanely busy schedules, constant off-world trips, and highly classified lives.

Normally, she'd throw on a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt for their get-togethers, but today was different because she felt different. She pulled out a black skirt that came to just above the knee, and picked out a baby blue shirt that she'd been told really brought out the color in her eyes. (And that Janet had mentioned really showed off her chest well… _ But that's not why I'm choosing to wear it, _she told herself.) Putting it all on, along with a strappy pair of black heels, she looked in the mirror. It was decidedly less militaristic than her normal look, which is exactly what she was going for.

Sam picked up her cellphone and hit the #6. She had had Janet on speed dial since the first day they'd met and gone out to lunch.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey, Janet? It's Sam."_

"_Hey, Sam. What's up?"_

"_Well, I uh, I was just wondering what you're planning on wearing today. 'Cause…see, well I have on a skirt and uh yea…" _She let her voice drop off as a slight blush crept into her cheeks. _Why am I blushing over wearing a skirt? You'd think I had to have an excuse to dress like a girl. Well, actually, around these guys I do_, she admitted to herself.

"_A skirt?" _Janet asked, cutting into her thoughts, with a slight hint of disbelief in her voice. "_Well, Samantha Carter! Never thought I'd see the day when you were the one dressing up and asking me to do the same, and not the other way around!"_

"_Don't read too much into it, Janet. I just felt like looking nice today. I feel really good; I think I needed this mandatory rest. Though if you repeat that to the guys, I'll deny every word of it! They already see me as '_the girl'_ on the team, the last thing I need is for them to be thinking I need extra time off because I can't handle the pace."_

"_Wouldn't dream of it. But as the team doctor, let me just say that you're not the only one who needed to take a break. It didn't take much to convince the General either. You were all acting like overtaxed insomniacs."_

"_Right. Well, anyways, what are you wearing? Do you think I should change?"_

"_No, absolutely not. I'll dress up too, that way the guys can't pick on either of us if we're both in skirts and heels."_

"_Great. So, see you in an hour?"_

"_Yep. I have to drop off Cassie at a friend's first, but then I'll be there to pick you up at about a quarter 'til noon, okay?"_

"_Sounds good. See you then."_

When Janet arrived, all dolled up, they exclaimed over each other's outfits, and hair, and makeup, and dropping not-so-subtle hints about what the guys would think.

"_Wait 'til O'Neill sees you in that top. He's gonna bust something!"_

"_Well you should talk. Daniel will be falling all over himself when he sees you looking like that in a skirt, and with your hair down!"_

"_Well, I can only hope so!" _Janet exclaimed, with a cheeky grin towards her friend.

"_We should get going, before the guys start wondering where we're at."_

They arrived at the restaurant and found the guys waiting inside for them. O'Neill raked his eyes over Carter's form in an appraising sort of way, barely noticing the other woman beside her, as Daniel grinned at Janet then realized he was staring and hurriedly glanced away. Teal'c simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing. The boys' reactions set them to giggling like school girls.

"_Ladies?"_ O'Neill questioned. Then deciding he'd rather not have an answer, he asked the waiter to seat them since they'd all arrived.

Throughout lunch, O'Neill couldn't keep his eyes off Sam, noting that she seemed happier, and perhaps flirtier. Back at his house, he cornered her alone in the kitchen, itching to get to the bottom of the matter.

"_What's different, Carter?" _ He asked her, trying to figure out what brought on this change in his 2IC.

"_Sir?_" she questioned back, not really sure what he was asking her.

"_Why are you so…uh…girly, today? I mean, not girly, you're always girly, you're a girl, but you know what I mean, uh, so, uh…"_

Carter considered letting him ramble on, just to hear him so flustered, but decided to take pity on him instead. _ "You mean, why am I in a skirt?"_

"_Well, no. I mean yes. But, it's more than that. You seem…I dunno…happier or something. Did something happen?"_

"_Yes, sir. Something did actually happen."_

"_Well?" _He looked at her with an exacerbated face.

"_I slept, sir." _She replied. But seeing the puzzled look on his face, she continued, "_For more than 3 hours in a row. Without anyone waking me up and asking me to save the planet. Or the universe. Again."_

"_Oh."_

"_Yea."_

"_Well, sleep looks good on you, Sam." _He told her in a low voice, looking intently into her eyes.

"_Thank you, sir." _She replied in a quiet tone matching his. She looked down as a blush crept onto her face.

"_Sam, when I tell you you look hot, I don't want you calling me sir."_

"_I, uh, what?" _She sputtered as her gaze flew back up to his eyes to see if he was joking.

"_You're the most beautiful woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing, Sam." _ He told her in a completely serious tone, holding her gaze steady and bringing a hand up to caress her cheek.

"_I, um, wow. Thank you. That means a lot to me coming from you." _ She replied in wonder.

Before she could think of anything else to say, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips for just a moment, then turned to walk out to the deck to join the others.

"_Jack. Wait. Before you go..." _ She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face her. Before she could lose her courage, she wrapped her hands around his neck, leaned forward, and kissed him fervently.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Sam, are you alright? You've been awfully quiet ever since we left O'Neill's. Actually, ever since you and O'Neill came out of the kitchen. Did something happen?" _ Janet cast a worried glance in Sam's direction as she drove her home.

"_It's nothing. Well, no. It's something. I just don't know what."_

"_Uh, could you be any more cryptic? Just tell me. You know whatever you say to me stays between us, Sam."_

"_I know, Janet. I just don't know what to make of the whole thing. Jack… I mean, O'Neill…he, well, we… we kissed."_

"_WHAT?" _ Janet shrieked, nearly slamming on the brakes in shock. "_I mean, don't get me wrong, it's been a long time coming, but what? How did this happen?"_

"_A moment of weakness, I guess. He said…"_ she let her voice drop off.

"_What? What did he say?"_

"_He said…he said I'm beautiful."_ Sam said in a quiet voice. Then thinking to herself, _Well, if I'm being honest with myself, he said I was the most beautiful woman he's ever had the privilege of knowing. It's not every day a guy like Jack says something like that to someone like me._

Janet gave a small chuckle. "_Well, Sam, it's not like you've never heard that before. I mean, how many guys over the years have said that to you? There was Martouf and Orlin and Narim and McKay –" _

"_Yea, I know." _ Sam cut in, stopping her before she could list every failed relationship and unseized opportunity since they first met. "_But you know how it is. He's not just anyone, any other guy. I just don't know how I should feel. Do you think I should regret it? Should I say something to him? Or ignore it like it didn't happen? What if it's awkward? Or what if he regrets it?" _Voicing all of her fears aloud suddenly brought other fears to mind. "_Oh my god, what if he thinks I'm a bad kisser?" _

"_Sam. You're getting way ahead of yourself. Let's just talk this over for a minute. First things first, did he give you any reason to think he didn't like the kiss?"_

Blushing, she admitted "_Well, no I guess not. Definitely not." _She replied as she remembered the way his arms had pulled her tight against him and then gotten lost in her hair, as he deepened the kiss.

Janet glanced over at her friend with a knowing grin on her face, but deciding it would be better not to tease her friend just yet. _"Okay, then did he seem to regret it afterwards? Did he say anything?"_

"_Not really. I think we were both in a bit of shock. But he smiled. He smiled before he went back to the deck, so I don't think he regrets it. I hope not." _

"_Okay. So what about you? How do you feel about it?"_

"_I dunno, Janet. I feel like I should probably regret it. But I don't think I do. It was everything I wanted it to be. It was just perfect." _She sighed. _ But it just left me wanting more._ _And wanting more is a dangerous concept_, she thought to herself.

"_Well, Sam, no one ever accused you of under-thinking anything. You're gonna drive yourself insane if you dwell on this too much. Why don't you just sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning?" _

"_Yea, I guess so." _She replied as the car pulled into her driveway. As she was getting out of the car, a thought occurred to her. "_Hey Janet, how'd things go with Daniel?"_

Janet gave a slight roll of her eyes and a smile. "_You know Daniel. Quick thinker, slow mover. I caught him staring a lot tonight, but he didn't even make a move."_

"_Boys." _

"_Yea. Hey Sam, call me tomorrow, okay? We'll talk."_

"_Sounds good."_

Janet watched as Sam headed into the house and then turned the car around and drove home.

Janet had been home for little more than an hour when she heard a knock at the door. Wondering who would be at her house at 10 o'clock at night, she moved to the window and looked out to find Daniel standing on her doorstep.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Daniel? What are you doing here?"_ Janet asked in surprise as she opened the door.

"_Hi Janet. I, uh, well, I'm not really sure. I was just thinking. About stuff, you know…and I ended up here. Mind if I come in?"_

"_Sure."_ Janet stood back to let him pass and then closed the door and followed him into the living room.

Now that he was inside, everything felt a little more awkward and neither one knew what to say. _"So, is Cassie here?"_

"_No, she decided to stay over at her friend's. I'm all alone for the night."_

"_Right. Uh, so, today was fun?"_ It came out more as a question than a statement.

"_Yea, I had a really good time. I enjoy our little get-togethers. It's nice when everyone's not so stressed out and all."_

"_Yea." He replied. "Is Sam okay? She seemed a little off today after dinner."_

"_Oh, yea, she's fine. Just a lot on her mind."_

"_Right, well, uh, you know what? This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here and bothered you." _He stated nervously as he moved towards the door.

"_Daniel."_ He stopped in his tracks. _"What did you come here to say?"_ He turned around to look her in the eyes.

"_I didn't actually come here to say anything."_

"_No?"_

"_No."_ Seeing the crest fallen look on her face, he moved over to her and put a hand on her shoulder and the other on the back of her neck. "_I didn't come to say anything, but I came to do this."_ He lowered his lips to hers and felt her respond immediately to their first kiss. She could feel the tension seep out of him as she wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him in closer, so their bodies were in full contact. So caught up in the heat of their kiss, she barely noticed when he picked her up into his arms and carried her over to the couch.

**VVVVV**

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Sam was tossing and turning in bed as the day's events ran through her head over and over again. The shrill ring of the telephone brought her out of her thoughts and she wondered who could be calling her this late at night.

"_Hello?"_

"_Carter?"_

"_Colonel O'Neill? What's going on? Did something happen?" _Her mind jumping to all sorts of possibilities for why he could be calling so late.

"_No, nothing. Relax." _He assured her. _"Ah, geez, Carter. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep." _He went to hang up the phone, but her response stopped him.

"_I can't sleep."_

"_No? Me either. Guess that's why I'm calling."_ She held her breath, waiting to see if he'd say anything more.

"_Carter? You still there?"_

"_Yea. Just thinking. Sir, about what happened today, I have to know…" _A long pause, then _"do you regret it?"_ And she braced herself for whatever came next.

"_No."_

"_No?"_

"_No. You?"_

She let out the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding in. _"Never."_

"_Good. So where does that leave us, Sam?"_

_He called me 'Sam'. I love when he calls me Sam. "No idea, sir." Jack. I wish I could just call him Jack._

There was a long moment of silence, each of them waiting to find out what the other would say next, too afraid to say what they really wanted to say for fear of the other's response.

"_Sam –" _

"_Jack, I want more."_ She held her breath, simultaneously wishing that she could take the words back and waiting in suspended hope for what he would say in response. His reply didn't come right away. And it killed her to know it.

"_You do?"_

"_You don't?"_

"_I do."_

"_You do?"_

"_Yea."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really. But I don't know how to move forward. I don't want to put your career in jeopardy. The Stargate program needs you. A lot more than they need me. But I don't know if I can give it up just yet."_

"_Why does either of us have to? It's not like we haven't felt this way for years and we've spent our entire military careers keeping secrets, so it's not like we don't know how. What if it's just you and me? Together? It's not like I'm expecting us to get married right now or something. And no one would have to know, not until we want them to anyways. I mean, sure, Janet and the rest of SG-1 would probably know, but I think we could keep it a secret. There's no need for the General to find out. Feel free to interrupt me any time here, Jack."_

"_Married?"_

"_What?"_

"_You said 'married'. I distinctly heard you say the word 'married'."_

Sam was blushing even though there was no one around to see it. _"I, uh, well, I was just theorizing… I just meant, you know if there ever came a time…"_

"_Would you want to?"_

"_What? Marry you?"_

"_Well, not right now, you know. But in the future. Would you want to?"_

"_With every beat of my heart."_

"_Yea?"_

"_Yea. You?"_

"_Definitely." _Tears sprung to Sam's eyes just to hear him say it. For it to be out there, acknowledged.

Ten minutes later, she hung up the phone with a smile on her face. They had agreed to start seeing each other in secret, but had decided to keep Teal'c, Daniel, and Janet in the loop, since it wasn't likely that they could keep it from them anyways. As she lay back in bed and pulled the covers around her, she had a whole new reason to keep her from falling asleep.

_I can't wait to talk to Janet tomorrow,_ she thought. _She'll be so shocked._ Unbeknownst to Sam, she wasn't the only one with news.

**VVVVV**

"No! Really?"

"Really."

"Wow. Me too."

"What do you mean 'me too'?"

"I mean, me too. Me and Daniel, too."

"What? When?"

"Last night."

"Wow."

"Yea."


End file.
